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November 28, 2011

Steve Jobs: Meaning of His Last Words, "Oh Wow"

The best way to understand what happened to Steve Jobs and the meaning of his last words is to look at his religious background and what he started to yearn for towards the end of his life. When death of the body resulting in the separation of the physical from the spirit body is about to take place, a person goes through a period of both physical and spiritual catharsis. During this time whether the person is sick or well will start giving off spiritual death vibrations. People who are closer to them can pick up these death vibrations no matter how far they may be. According to his biography, Steve Jobs was brought up as a Christian. He was baptized as a Lutheran Christian, and was a Christian for many years until later in his life. He gave up Christianity for Buddha. Did Christianity give up on him? Perhaps not. I strongly believe once a Christian is always a Christian no matter how far you may have walked away from Christ for whatever reason. Jesus never walks away from his own even if his own walks away from him. Can Jesus understand Steve’s struggle with his spirituality? Of course yes!

Regardless to what ever explanation might have been given for Steve’s last statement of "Oh Wow’ three times, only one explanation is possible. That point is made very clear in the book of Acts, "By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands here before you whole - - - Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:10-12).

Jesus is the only person who can offer man the gift of eternal salvation, according to God’s plan of salvation. Buddha could not offer Steve Jobs life after death. Buddhists do not believe in life after death, neither do they believe in God, or in Heaven. Steve Jobs shattered those beliefs of Buddhists when he stood at the edge of eternity while Jesus appeared to him to claim his soul and revealed the magnificence and the glory of the beauty of God in Heaven. Steve had no other comment than to say, "Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!" Steve was seized with awe when through his spiritual eyes he was able to see beyond the Disneyland of this world, to the super- magnificence Disneyland of Heaven. Furthermore, Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson indicated in his writing that Steve started to talk about God and life after death. Those are not the thoughts of a Buddhist. Those were the thoughts of a Christian. This is a very important point. It cannot be over-stressed that Steve Jobs was a baptized Christian early in life, and grew into the Lutheran Church, but discovered Buddhism later in life. Thanks to God, Steve already made his peace with the Lord Jesus on his deathbed. Perhaps Steve returned privately to the Lord prior to his deathbed experience without many people knowing about it. The only Spirit that might have allowed Steve to see the majestic beauty of Heaven is the Spirit of God in Christ. No other spirit on earth according to Acts chapter 4 has access to Heaven other than that of Jesus as the only way to God.

At the time of death, those who do not believe in God tend to have the scariest moment of their life, because of the uncertainty of where they are going. Those who have accepted Jesus Christ and God’s plan of salvation always have a very joyful transition. I have witnessed this myself in the spirit during a coming-out of the body of human spirit. Saved Christians do not lose consciousness after death contrary to the confusion being entertained in the secular world. Those who are saved will experienced the gradual detachment of the human spirit out of the physical body accompanied by angels on the vehicle provided by the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus described the transition of Lazarus after death. They are then delivered into the presence of Christ in Heaven. Their souls remain conscious and alive in Jesus.

The spirit of a non-believer is very much alone when coming out of the body. Once that soul of the unbeliever comes alone out of the physical body, it is placed under arrest in most of the cases. Some may wonder for a while on earth especially if they died before their time. In some situations, humans involved in witchcraft and the occult can capture the spirit of the dead as a soul slave for satanic and selfish purposes. This is a well

known fact in some of the countries involved heavily in witchcraft. The spiritual vehicle that takes non-believers delivers them to Hades, a compartment beneath the earth where they will wait for the Day of Judgment. This is like a holding cell before trial and sentencing before the court of the Lord. Hades is not a pleasant place either. It is a place of torment as described by Jesus, but it is unlike the agony of hell reserved for later times. Whatever happens to non-believers after death no matter how rich they were on earth is not a pleasant experience. My personal and wise suggestion is, while you are still alive, you can surrender your life to Christ, and let him be the guardian of your soul in life and after death.

Very importantly, we must realize that the earthly experience is a transitional existence from the spirit being to the physical existence on earth. After the period of earthly existence is over, human spirit with his soul goes back into the spirit existence. Wherever a person eventually spends eternity depends on the choices made on earth. What many people do not realize is that many of the painful experiences on earth have less to do with us, and more to do with eternity. Jesus wants us to repent before coming to the kingdom of God. Repentance takes us through a process of soul purification. Many people are unwilling to repent of sins. They do not want to give up their earthly toys and idols. Consequently, some of our experiences have to deal with the process of breaking away from the original sin and our own personal sins. In the process, we attain a spiritual level of repentance so we can regain the paradise that was lost. Jesus therefore came on earth to help us regain paradise that was lost. Jesus takes us through a blood purification process using his blood to wipe away our sins. He pays our sin debt, thereby giving us access and opening the door of Heaven for us. A person has the right to reject Jesus and God’s plan of salvation. After rejecting Jesus’ plea bargain before God through the cross, a person will therefore spend eternity in a painful place in payment for personal sins.

The last statement Steve Jobs made was very common throughout the gospel. When Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain of transfiguration, what could they have said besides, "wow!" When Jesus turned water to wine, open the eyes of the blind, walked on water, raised the dead, healed the sick, cast out demons, walked through walls after resurrection, what could those who witnessed the miracles have said other than "Wow!" On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down in fulfillment of the Promise of the Father, and the disciples were able to speak in different languages, including the day Jesus ascended into Heaven as he disappeared into the cloud, what could those who witnessed these miracles have said, other than, "Wow!"

The greatest lesson to learn from Steve Jobs apart from his creative inventions is the confirmation that there is life after death. His last words confirmed this fact! Steve has given us an account of what he saw when he looked beyond life on this earth. He looked into the invisible world of God as he had a glimpse of the glory of God by seeing beyond the moon. Steve saw eternity with his spiritual eyes. He was bewildered by the wonders of God in Heaven beyond the earthly realm. The only thing he could say was, "Oh wow." Steve had a good heart. He might not have been a perfect man like any of us. God however revealed the power of his talent through him. Steve’s earthly inventions made the world a better place for others. His inventions were his greatest achievements. When we look at the reality of our existence on this earth, it is obvious Steve did not achieve anything, except what God achieved through him. God is the one who gave him the talent. Steve Jobs did not create himself, God did!

Another lesson to learn from Steve Jobs is about the legacy we leave behind as people when the final moment comes. Steve left a wonderful legacy that touches many people’s lives. Money is not big enough to define our legacy, but what we are able to achieve with the money. To those millionaires and billionaires who do not know what to do with their money, learn from Steve Jobs. Work to leave a lasting legacy un-definable with money. This life is not forever. You have to spend eternity somewhere. I hope you will define your eternity based on whether you have accepted Jesus or not. Although Steve walked away from the Lord, but the Lord knows his heart. The Lord did not walk away from Steve. Jesus therefore came to rescue his soul. Steve’s last words describe his excitement to express his appreciation for the visitation of the Lord Jesus, who welcomes him home to Heaven.

These Bible verses summarize the glorious ascension of Steve Jobs which he himself described as, "Oh Wow! Oh Wow! Oh Wow!"

Jesus said, "I have lost none of those my Father had given me" (St. John 18:9).

"My Father who gave them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand" (St. John 10:29).

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any power, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

By Yinka Vidal, author, Closer Walk With Jesus